Gypsy children live in a camp north of Athens. / Milos Bicanski, Getty Images

by Nikolia Apostolou , Special for USA TODAY

by Nikolia Apostolou , Special for USA TODAY

ATHENS - Greek police arrested three Gypsies Wednesday on the island of Lesbos who are accused of abducting a 3-month-old baby boy, the second such allegation of child kidnapping by Gypsies in a week.

The three Gypsies, also known as Roma, had taken the child to the island's hospital to register him as their own without proper documentation, said Regional Police Chief Panagiotis Kordonouris.

Social services officials contacted police who raided a camp where the Gypsies lived and arrested a woman, 19, her 21-year old partner and his 55-year old mother.

Maria, a blonde girl found last week in the care of a Gypsy couple, has prompted an international search for the little girl's true parents.

The alleged abduction of "Maria," who appears to be 4 to 6 years old, led to an order from prosecutors to check the birth records of thousands of children who may not be living with their real parents.

In the Lesbos case, the couple claim a woman gave the baby to them. Police plan to conduct a DNA test to unravel the mystery.

Kordonouris said the three said a Bulgarian woman had given the boy to them because she wasn't able to care for him. That is also what police were told by the Gypsy caretakers of Maria, who was found in a Roma camp in central Greece.

The international police agency Interpol said it has not matched any missing cases to the DNA of the girl, who has been placed in temporary care with a Greek charity called Smile of the Child.

Tuesday, a Greek prosecutor ordered an investigation into birth certificates issued from 2008 until present. An investigation into records at the Registry Office in Athens showed that there has been 1,000% increase in births in two years.

Greek authorities suspect there are numerous cases in which people declare fake births to get benefits for their children, something the couple who had Maria are accused of doing.